Integrated chicks -except at night!

[mcclucker]

I have a complicated situation - I had 4 hens and one went broody so I added 6 chicks - 2 were grafted to her and the other 4 were raised in a brooder pen. They are 5 weeks now and fully integrated during the day. Mama hen decided a couple days ago to be done with chick mothering and wants to sleep on the roost with her girls again. Her babies are desperate to sleep under her and there is a lot of drama at bedtime because the other hens don't want the chicks there and the chicks won't sleep by themselves. And mama refuses to sleep in the nesting box with them.

The other 4 still sleep under a brooder plate in the coop but the 2 mothered chicks won't join them. The coop is big - two adjoining rooms, one 5x7 and one 10x12. There are two roosts - one higher and one long one lower. The brooder area has a very low "training roost" next to the brooder plate too.

Will they work it out on their own? My lower pecking order hen was so stressed about being sat on by chicks last night she was panting

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Separate them and let them get use to being alone

 

[mcclucker]

Ok I can easily do that. Thanks!

 

[Mrs. K]

Or put a board about 12 inches wide up on top of the roosts. My broody hens always get her chicks up on there. The urge to roost is very powerful.

 

[mcclucker]

Yes the chicks were able to get up there and sleep, the issue was that they wanted to be right next to the mama and the others were upset by that.

I separated all the chicks last night and the two mothered ones are not following the mom around today so we will see what they try to do tonight. Last night I turned out the light and put all the chicks under the brooder plate. There was a lot of squawking but they quieted down and were all fine this morning.

The cockerel chick is being nasty to the other four chicks though. I hope he mellows out.